Paper centering device for a paper punch



Oct- 28. 1969 A. NEUSTADTER ET Al- 3,474,594

PAPER CENTERING DEVICE FOR A PAPER PUNCH Filed Sept. 2'7, 1967 Immun 3 4 INVENTORS.- @wa W ATTORNEY United States Pateifit O 3,474,694 PAPER CENTERING DEVICE FOR A f y PAPER PUNCH Arnold Neustadter, 1185 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10028; and Hildaul L. Nelsen, 2 Juniper St., Metuchen, NJ. 08840 Filed Sept. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 671,037 Int. Cl. B26d 7/16 U.S. Cl. 83-449 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A gear, meshing with opposed rack portions of a pair of paper gauging bars in a paper punch has a disc concentrically axed thereto which is considerably larger than said gear; the edge of the disc being accessible for manual rotation to adjustably move the paper gauging bars equally in opposite directions.

Background of the invention The mentioned gear and rack arrangement has hitherto been used without such a disc for actuating the gear; the gauge bars being directly manipulated to space their paper gauging portions apart to the desired extent.

Objects and advantages of this invention The principal object of this invention is to provide, in a paper punch, a paper gauging arrangement, wherein a pair of oppositely adjustable gauge bars is more easily adjusted than those hitherto employed.

The mentioned object is achieved by the disc arrangement, set forth in the foregoing abstract of the invention, wherein the disc, manually turned by force applied to its edge, brings a substantial mechanical advantage into play in effecting adjusting of the positions of the two paper gauging bars.

The drawings The drawing discloses only a single embodiment without, however, limiting the invention to that particular embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a generally conventional paper punch, a portion being cut away to afford a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, partly broken away to afford a clearer view of principal parts of said embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view, substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Details of disclosed embodiment A rather conventional type of paper punch is shown in the drawings as comprising a base 10, punch holding and actuating portions 12 (only one being shown), fixed upon said base, and including two punch plungers 14, and an operating lever 16 suitably mounted upon actuating portions 12 and operatively connected with means (not shown) in the portions 12 for actuating the punch plungers 14; all as well understood by those familiar with paper punches.

The margin of paper to be punched is inserted in space x (FIG. 1), backed against the front edges 18 of spacing plates 20 disposed between the base 10 and the portions 12, and the paper centering device of this invention engages opposite side edges of the paper is so locating the latter that the holes punched in its margin will be equidistant from its said side edges.

The disclosed paper centering means comprise a pair of transversely extending guide bars 30 of at metal, slidably carried in slots 32 in opposite side walls of the base nce 10. One end of each guide bar is bent upwardly to provide a paper engaging finger 34 and opposed side edges of the bars are formed as toothed racks 36. i

Between and at thejsame level as the racks, the teeth of a gear 38 mesh with the two racks. This gear is rotatably carried upon a depending stud 40, the upper end of which is suitably fixed to the top wall 22 of the base 10.

A relatively rigid, ilat disc 42 is provided at the underside of the gear38, being either formed integrally with the latter or being xed thereto or arranged to constrain said gear to turn therewith by any suitable means.

The disc 42 and gear 38 are held upon the stud 40 by an annular, fingered spring 44, which, at a central aperture thereof, is held upon the lower end of the stud by a snap ring or washer 46 seated in a circumferential groove formed in the stud. Fingers 48 of the spring engage the under side of the disc 42 to urge the latter and the gear 38 upwardly to maintain a light frictional engagement of the gear with the under surface of the bases top wall 22 and to hold the gear in horizontal alignment with the racks 36. The disc 42 is of considerably greater diameter than the gear 38, and a marginal portion 50 thereof protrudes through a slot 52 in the front wall of the base 10 to enable the disc to be turned manually by the user. Such manual turning of the disc causes the gear 38 to turn and, through the latters meshing engagement with the racks 36, causes the guide bars 30 to move equally and oppositely. Because of such equal guide bar movement, the fingers 34 are always retained equidistant, laterally, from a point precisely midway between the punches 14 or, i.e., with respect to the center of the device.

A suitable pointer 54 is suitably provided on the base 10, centrally of the slot 52, and suitable indicia 56 are provided on the discs marginal portion 50, the indicia markings, preferably, having numbers indicative of the widths of paper for which the guide bars 30 are adjusted.

It will be realized that, in contrast to the somewhat awkward and difficult manner of adjusting guide bars by direct manipulation of the bars themselves, as in prior devices, the guide bars in the present invention are very easily adjusted by manipulation of the disc 42. Because of the relatively large size of said disc, a very substantial mechanical advantgae is present in this invention giving easier operation of the gear 38 and the guide bars 30. The large size of the disc 42 also permits Vernier adjustment of the guide bars to be quickly achieved.

It should be understood that the novel concepts involved in this invention may be utilized in various other ways without departing from the invention as set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A paper centering device for a paper punch, said device comprising a pair of parallel, elongate, longitudinally slidable, guide bars having opposed rack portions, a circular gear between and meshing with said rack portions, constraining said guide bars to equal sliding movement in opposite directions relatively to each other, and a rotatable plate fixed to the center of said gear at said plates axis of rotation; said plate having a marginal portion extending radially outwardly beyond the periphery of said gear; and said marginal portion being accessible for manipulation to turn said plate and gear.

2. A paper centering device according to claim 1, said plate being a circular disc fixed at its center, to said gear, and said marginal portion being an arcuate, marginal portion of said disc protruding from the paper punch to render said marginal portion accessible for manipulation.

3. The combination of a paper punch and a paper centering device therefor, said paper punch comprising a hollow base having a top wall, opposite side walls, and a front Wall, and said centering device comprising two parallel, elongate guide bars, extending laterally within said base and slidably borne in slots in said side walls for sliding longitudinallyin parallelism, protruding ends of said guide bars having vertically extending paper engaging ngers, opposed toothed racks integral with side portions of said guide bars, a circular toothed gear, carried Within said base upon a concentric pin connected, at its upper end, to said top wall, and meshing with the teeth of both said racks, constraining said guide bars to equal sliding movement in opposite directions relatively to each other, and a circular plate of greater diameter than said gear, connected concentrically to said gear for constraining said gear and plate to turn together in unison, said plate having a marginal portion protruding through said 15 33 5221633 front Wallin position to be manipulated to turn said plate and gear.

References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,524,582 10/1950 Yerkes 83-449 2,534,094 l2/ 1950 Yerkes 83-449 FOREIGN PATENTS 163,237 10/ 1905 Germany. 636,533 10/1936 Germany.

WILLIAM s. LAWSON, Primary Examiner U.s. C1. XR. 

